Laserfiche WebLink
<br />COLORADO SPRINGS UTILITIES' 2008-2012 WATER CONSERVATION PLAN <br /> <br />Program Screening Criteria <br /> <br />Water Savings Potential <br /> <br />Is the water savings potential significant? For example, clothes washers account for <br />approximately 21.7% of annual indoor use and dishwashers account for approximately 1.4% of <br />annual indoor use. Hence, a clothes washer rebate provides more water savings potential than a <br />dishwasher rebate. Regarding outdoor use, more customers have lawns than water features. <br />Therefore, restricting lawn watering has more potential than limiting water features. Water <br />savings can be influenced by a number of variables including individual unit savings, program <br />length, measure life, annual participation and marl(et penetration. <br /> <br />Social Acceptance <br /> <br />Will customers and stal(eholders accept the program? Consideration must be given to customer <br />and community preferences. Springs Utilities learns about preferences through the strategic <br />account management program, individual customer meetings, customer research, customer <br />feedbacl( and public meetings. A program that is a basic expectation or industry standard <br />received a higher rating than a program that is controversial or unproven. For example, water <br />conservation education is a basic expectation of the community. However, if Springs Utilities <br />were to implement an ordinance that required homeowners to retrofit inefficient toilets and <br />fixtures prior to resale, chances are the program would be met with much controversy. As a <br />result, education received a higher rating than the retrofit on resale program. <br /> <br />Lil(elihood of Success <br /> <br />Are there significant barriers to prevent program success? A good example is the high-efficiency <br />toilet rebate. High-efficiency toilets are not readily available in the marl(etplace so the rebates <br />have seen low participation to date. Significant resources - time, effort and money - are <br />necessary to mal(e this program successful and to bring high-efficiency toilets into the <br />mainstream. Conversely, the clothes washer rebate has seen continued success, in part because <br />ENERGY STAR washers are readily available in the marl(etplace and the ENERGY STAR <br />brand has high recognition. Other barriers to success include programs with high upfront costs <br />and long paybacl( periods, particularly in the commercial and industrial segment. <br /> <br />Business and System Impacts <br /> <br />What are the business and system impacts to Springs Utilities? For example, expanding an <br />education program would have minimal business and system impacts. Conversely, introducing a <br />program that requires modifications to the Customer Care & Billing system would have <br />significant business and system impacts. One such program that arose during public process was <br />the suggestion that Springs Utilities present the customer bill in gallons instead of cubic feet. <br />This initiative would require Springs Utilities to convert over 132,000 meters or reconfigure the <br />bill. This would require a significant investment in human resources to fully understand the <br />impacts to billing processes and system functionality. Other programs that would receive a low <br />score for business and system impacts are those that require significant increases in staff. <br /> <br />25 <br />